Bringing together the exploding markets in B2B Internet applications and wireless access to data, UpShot.com today announced its new UpShot Everywhere offerings to provide sales teams with anytime, anywhere access to critical information about prospects, customers, and competitors.
Using wireless personal digital assistants (PDA) and Internet-enabled cell phones, mobile salespeople can now quickly access and act on news, action items, and leads supplied by the UpShot.com sales management service.
The goal of the UpShot Everywhere strategy is simple: to extend access to critical sales information beyond Internet-connected PC's to small, convenient wireless devices. With today's announcement, UpShot.com users now have two-way access through their Internet phones and wireless Palm PDA's to opportunity management and group calendaring as well as real-time alerts and breaking news on accounts.
With so much time spent in the field calling on prospects, salespeople are by their nature mobile workers. That means that the CRM (customer relationship management) applications they use will be the first in the B2B space where wireless devices will be used as important productivity tools.
"This is the end of the missed opportunity," said Keith Raffel, president and CEO of UpShot.com. "Our UpShot Everywhere strategy ensures that mobile salespeople can get the latest on their hot deals wherever they are--and better yet, they can act on what they've learned--by using the wireless Web. We're making CRM portable."
"By focusing on a specific business problem, providing applications wrapped in a services layer, and continually extending its offerings, UpShot shows that the ASP model is not only viable, but can be a compelling alternative to business as usual," said Lew Hollerbach, senior analyst at Aberdeen Group in Boston, Mass. Hollerbach also noted that companies such as UpShot are better torchbearers of the ASP wave than the first crop of players because they derive all of their revenue from the ASP business model, and offer a true, one-to-many distribution channel for software as a service.
UpShot Everywhere Strategy
The new wireless offerings from UpShot are the first manifestations of the UpShot Everywhere strategy. Noting customer demand for staying connected to business critical data, UpShot is rapidly developing offerings that leverage maturing technologies and infrastructure, such as wireless and voice enabling technologies, to provide true anytime, anywhere access. The end-goal is true platform and device independence, so that UpShot customers can have convenient and easy access to the information they need, when they need it most.
"The very nature of sales requires mobility and anytime, anywhere access to people and data," said Kelly Quinn, senior analyst at Aberdeen Group in Boston, MA. "Mobile professionals in this space need access to client data from a mobile connection in order to maintain the level of flexibility and accessibility required for success. The wireless enablement of the UpShot solution clearly addresses this intrinsic need."
"No one is sure which devices--WAP phones, wireless Palm PDA's, Handspring Visors, RIM pagers, or something new--will be the preferred tool for accessing data. What we do know is that UpShot is committed to supporting all popular remote access devices, so that our customers can decide for themselves how best to get the information they need," added Raffel. "We have a reputation as the leader in bringing new capabilities to the e-CRM market and UpShot Everywhere is critical in maintaining our market leadership."
Making The Grade With Users
AlphaDog Procurement Management, the leading provider of services designed to save companies more than 20% on their indirect expenditures, beta-tested UpShot Everywhere.
"We were very pleased with the results of the beta test. The ability to keep everyone, from the AlphaDog sales team out in the field to our executive team and staff in our San Francisco office, on the same page at all times is absolutely critical," said Tamara Nelson, sales operations manager for AlphaDog Procurement Management. "Through our beta trials with the UpShot Everywhere offering, AlphaDog's sales team is able to instantly disseminate critical, up-to-the-minute account information to whomever needs it, across multiple devices, in an easy-to-understand, easily-accessible Palm format."
Pricing And Availability
UpShot's new wireless service is included at no charge in the basic online UpShot.com service. It requires neither an expensive upgrade nor a costly implementation. General availability of the new offering will start in September.
UpShot's service is priced at $55 per user, per month and includes training, tech support for UpShot.com's easy-to-deploy, easy-to-use and well-supported solution for "anytime, anywhere" sales team collaboration. Companies that sign up with UpShot receive their first five user licenses for free for the first six months. UpShot also offers options for companies that require an assigned project manager and 24x7 support.
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